Abacus Nursery & Out of School Club Dawley

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Children are happy to attend the nursery and they settle well because they form warm and trusting relationships with caring staff.

Children independently choose resources and mainly lead their own play. They also have opportunities to be involved in some fun and interesting adult-led activities. For example, pre-school children experiment by playing with ice cubes and animal figures.

Children are inquisitive learners. Younger children in the baby and toddler room relish opportunities to snuggle up to staff and listen to their favourite stories. Staff interact with children to support their play and they praise children's ...achievements.

That said, staff do not provide sufficient support or challenge to effectively build on what pre-school children need to learn next to extend their learning. All children have opportunities to play outdoors. However, outdoor learning is not planned and there are not enough activities for children to engage with.

Children behave well. Staff's consistent approach, such as reminding children to have 'kind hands', supports children's understanding of what is expected of them. Children gain good levels of independence and staff help them to develop their self-help and self-care skills and to manage everyday tasks.

For example, younger children are supported to feed themselves. Pre-school children make their own decisions about when to have and what to have for their mid-morning healthy snack.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

Since the last inspection, the manager manages the nursery on a full-time basis.

This, in addition to external support and training for the whole staff team, has led to some positive changes being made, such as improved information obtained from parents at the start of their child's stay. The premises is being refurbished and the manager supports staff through improved supervision. Toddler room staff have recently received support and coaching to help younger children regulate their own behaviour.

An action plan is in place and takes account of staff and parent views to improve the quality of the provision for children. However, the monitoring and self-evaluation have not been effective enough to recognise where aspects of teaching and learning are not yet good.Children show enjoyment during adult-led activities.

For example, pre-school children eagerly fill their plastic bottle with different materials to see how it will sound when they shake it. Staff make necessary adjustments to respond to children's ideas. Staff encourage children to concentrate when they skilfully insert pegs into tiny holes on a board and to identify colours.

That said, staff do not effectively plan activities to focus sharply enough on what children need to learn, and children's learning is not supported well enough taking account of their individual next steps. For example, staff miss opportunities to support children's social skills and physical development. Therefore, children do not make the full progress they are capable of.

Staff make assessments of their key children's learning and they know where aspects of children's development need to be targeted specifically. However, the planning does not provide enough resources or activities that excite and motivate children, including outdoors.Lunchtime is a social occasion where younger children and pre-school children all eat together.

Children are confident with the routine and pre-school children eagerly talk to each other as they eat their meal and then clear away their plates and cutlery. However, children wait for prolonged periods before their dessert arrives. This impacts on their behaviour and they become restless.

Staff exchange information with parents about their child's needs on a daily basis and they help parents to support their child's learning at home. For example, parents are invited to stay-and-play sessions and are given resources to help children to recognise and match colours. Parents are complimentary about the nursery and the support they receive for their child.

They say their child's confidence has grown since they started.Staff work well with other professionals, such as the local authority's inclusion team and speech and language services. This means parents receive intervention to fully support their child's learning and development.

Staff have strong links with local schools and they share information about children's development. They purchase some of the teaching resources suggested by teachers, such as 'Topsy and Tim', which is a picture book for children about school. Staff use this to reassure children about starting school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have a sound understanding, through up-to-date training, of how to protect children. They know the different signs and symptoms of abuse and the reporting procedures to follow if they have a concern about a child or another staff member.

Staff articulate a knowledge of the 'Prevent' duty and female genital mutilation. The manager implements effective staff recruitment procedures. Risk assessment systems have recently improved.

The manager continues to ensure staff undertake daily checks of the premises, to ensure children's safety.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage, the provider must: Due date improve the support and challenge that staff give to children to ensure they guide all children's learning through purposeful play experiences indoors and, in particular, outdoors 31/03/2020 improve arrangements to observe, assess and monitor children's progress, to accurately plan for the next stage in children's learning and help all children make the best possible progress 31/03/2020 raise the quality of teaching to a consistently good level and ensure staff focus on what children need to learn next.31/03/2020 To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: make effective use of self-evaluation to reflect accurately on the quality of teaching and learning and improve outcomes for children review the organisation of lunchtime so that pre-school children are not waiting for prolonged periods and they fully engage in the learning experience.

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